Cow 2

Hello blogland bloggers!  Thank you for visiting my site and supporting my artistic endeavors.  I appreciate all of the loyal followers of my blog.  You all help keep me accountable.  I am so happy to finally feel back on track in regard to fairly regular blog posts.  I had a few months of limited posts…thanks for hanging in there with me.

This painting is the second abstract cow I have painted.  I finished this one last weekend.  It is painted entirely in acrylics on a 9 x 12 inch gesso board.  Below are some of the progression photos of my sweet, little cow.  I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed painting it.

Warmly,

k  i  m  b  y

“Wild Abandon”

Greetings from sunny and beautiful San Francisco!  I hope you are all doing well and looking forward to the weekend.  I know I am.  

I wanted to share some progression photos of a painting I just finished last night entitled “Wild Abandon”.  It was done entirely in acrylics.  As some of you may know, I typically paint exclusively in oils; however, I have been experimenting with acrylics quite a bit of late.  I am starting to really understand how to manipulate the paint effectively and I am thoroughly enjoying myself.  Acrylics are so versatile and the fact that they dry quickly is wonderful, especially after dealing with slow drying oils for so long.  

This painting is a small one, 6 x 6 inches, on gesso board.  I would have preferred to paint it much larger however I am running out of large canvas.  Time to make a trip to the art store…which is my favorite pastime, aside from painting.  This was a challenging piece for me in that I had never even sketched a horse, let alone paint one.  It took me three tries to create a realistic looking horse.  Thank goodness my mother supplied me with some very helpful constructive criticism regarding my first sketch attempt otherwise I would have ended up with a horse that had an excessively lonnnnng snout.

Enjoy the photos and let me know what you think of “Wild Abandon”.

Be well,

k  i  m  b  y

SOLIPSIST

This video is mind-blowing to me.  Disturbingly haunting and beautiful at the same time.  I had to share it!  You be the judge.  Here is the link…let me know what you think.

 

To try or not to try?

Hello blog-land!  I am happy to say that hopefully, with this post, I will get back on track with my regular blog posts.  I have been on somewhat of a sabbatical for the last couple of months.  I have had a multitude of technical/computer/Wordpress administration issues and problems that have made blogging and posting pictures kind of a drag….a long and arduous drag…and a bit of a creative slump.  This makes me sad because blogging has helped to make me accountable over the last year.  When I know that I have faithful and regular followers, then I know that I have to keep writing and producing art to share with the world…

Thus the reason for today’s post title:  “To Try or Not to Try”….that is the question!  It is a question that I sometimes struggle with as I am sure most of do as well.  I know I am not alone but the knowledge of this just isn’t enough sometimes.

Making art is a solitary activity and most of the time that is precisely why I paint…to be alone, to be quiet, to be ‘not in my head’, to get lost in the paint and canvas; however, sometimes this solitary act can cause me to feel a deep and palpable loneliness.  It is at this point that I believe my subconscious is craving human interaction.  It is during these time periods that I have come to learn that it is ALL THE MORE CRUCIAL to get into the studio and start….just START to create and paint.  It is the start and the blank canvas that can be daunting.  I know you know what I am referring to.

So…..so…I have been working on forcing myself to just begin the process even if I have no conceptual idea where my brush will take me.  For me just dipping my brush into a lovely and vibrant color is all I need to find the motivation that is hiding deep within.  Just the sound of the brush as it places the oil onto the canvas is enough to hook me…most of the time.  Many times what I paint falls deeply short of something beautiful.  It may be hideous…but at least it is not a total loss because I am learning to appreciate and love the process of doing….the journey of trying.  I have to constantly speak to my inner critic and say, “Just TRY Kimby….TRY!”  Silencing my inner demons is one of the primary reasons I began (and continue to) paint in the first place.

Thomas Edison said long ago:  “I have not failed 10,000 times, I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”  

I love this quote because it is really speaking to our perception of our unique and individual realities.  If we can just learn to tweak our perceptions, our world and life views can be utterly fantastic.  This is what I am working on:  Trying…trying to shift my perspective from the silent voices of inner criticism to one that embraces the fact that there is really no failure, only growth.  It is all in how we look at it.

With that, I am going to share some pictures of some pieces I have been working on of late.  I hope you enjoy my paintings.  When all was said and done, I love them…I really, really love them.  

Blessings and peace to you and yours.

Warmly,

k  i  m  b  y in San Francisco